Behold Bogut: Warriors 87 Suns 85

I’ve said my piece regarding Bogut’s ankle. The Warriors media fell down on the job, and I felt it my duty to step up in their place. I gave you what I think is the truth about Bogut’s medical condition, I correctly predicted that he wouldn’t be ready for training camp, and I pointed out to you the Las Vegas skepticism of his ability to play 7060 50 games this season.

I’m done with this for now, and hopefully forever. I’m setting aside my stethoscope. Now that Bogut has taken the floor, I’m going to evaluate him as any fan would, with appreciation and with hope for the best. He’s a great player when healthy, and it would be absolutely fantastic to watch him play at his highest level again.

We didn’t get anything close to his highest level last night, but what we did see was very encouraging. Two plays in particular stunned me. The first was when he beat Gortat down court for the layup. The second was when he put the ball on the floor with his left hand to drive around Scola for the layup. (If only Jeremy Lin and Charles Jenkins could go left like that!)

The rest of his game was pretty much as we expected. Solid rim defense and rebounding. On offense, the Warriors tried him in both the low post and the high post. His passing skills in the high post are undeniable, but I have some doubt about his ability to draw opposing big men out of the lane. He did drain his one open 15 footer, but his recent shooting percentages call into question his ability to hit that shot regularly.

One thing that did concern me is that when the Warriors did post him up, it was on the right block. That is unusual for right-handed players. And indeed, Bogut used these opportunities to get to his left-handed jump hook. What does this mean? Has Bogut given up on using his injured right arm in the post? Can he still shoot a right-handed jump hook? Why not set him up on the left block?

Having never been on the court yet this season, Bogut is of course nowhere close to being in basketball shape. He was completely gassed last night in short minutes. It will probably be around a month before he rounds into shape. And of course, Mark Jackson’s offense is a complete shambles. So for now, we’ll try not to pay attention to those minus sevens (-7).

David Lee and Stephen Curry:

Had horrible offensive games. I place most of the blame for this on Mark Jackson. Yes, most.

There is no other way to put this: Jackson’s offense seems designed to minimize the talents of these two players. And he chose not to interrupt whatever mess he was determined to run in order to get his two best players going.

Stephen Curry is one of the best shooters off the dribble in the entire league. He can stop and pop, he can step back, he can square up going left or right, and his range is unlimited. All that Curry needs to dominate a game is a simple high pick.

A simple high pick, like the Clippers set for Chris Paul, like the Suns set for Dragic, like the Raptors set for Lowry, like the Blazers set for Lillard, like the whole damn league sets for their talented point guards. This is not rocket science. Maybe that’s the problem, for genius-on-a-stick Mike Malone.

I may have missed something, but as far as I could tell, Curry got his first high pick at 9:40 of the 4th Q — Splash.

David Lee is one of the best pick and roll players in the league. Remember when Mark Jackson the broadcaster said, “The Warriors are doing the defense a favor whenever they post up Biedrins or Lee?” Whatever happened to that guy? Where did he go?

The first Curry/Lee pick and roll in this game occurred at 5:30 4th Q. Resulting in Lee finding Landry open for a dunk.

High picks. Pick and Roll. Not that complicated. If Mark Jackson and Mike Malone don’t know how to get two of the most offensively gifted players in the league going, then the Warriors need to start looking for a professional NBA coach.

Notes on Curry’s contract: The Stephen Curry who played for Don Nelson was a max player. I think the fact that he took this deal indicates great uncertainty in his mind about his ankle.

The Warriors might wind up getting a bargain, if Curry does put his ankle problems behind him. There is probably also little financial risk — the Warriors can insure against losing him for extended periods. Where the risk lies is in the salary cap, and the potential hit to the Warriors’ competitiveness for several years if he can’t stay healthy.

In the end, I think that Curry benefited greatly from the fact that the Warriors simply could not afford to leave him unsigned this year. For PR reasons. If Curry isn’t the face of this franchise, who is? No one sells more jerseys.

The Harrison Barnes Brand: There could be legitimate reasons for starting The Brand over Brandon Rush, but I can’t help but think it has more to do with the Warriors front office going all-in on building his brand, and creating some — however unlikely — ROY buzz. And, of course, establishing their credibility among their fan base.

I didn’t see Barnes do much to distinguish himself in this game, but:

Michael Beasley never got going, and he probably deserves some credit for that.

And he’s certainly not to blame for the hot mess that was the Warriors offense in the first and third quarters. They Warriors never got him a shot.

Carl Landry: Landry and BRush saved the Warriors’ bacon in this game. And in general, the Warriors second unit should be one of their greatest strengths this season. At one point in the first half, the Warriors reserves had outscored the Suns’ 24-4.

Landry hit every one of his jumpers, to the point that Mark Jackson designed an elbow jumper for him to seal the game. It would lovely if he could do that regularly, because he’s the player that will always be left open on this team. Can a 35% jump shooter do that regularly? Maybe he’s gotten better.

Klay Thompson: He’s not going to get many more favorable matchups than Jared Dudley — a converted spread-four of whom I have a fond memory flattening Brandan Wright in their first game as rookies. And PJ Tucker, whoever that is, whom he was matched up against in the fourth quarter. Tucker ate him up for an offensive rebound and put-back at 2:00 4th Q, which led directly to him getting yanked.

Thompson did a good job gobbling up uncontested boards in this game, but if he continues to find himself matched up against small forwards — and he will, particularly if Jackson likes the Curry/Jack backcourt — he’ll need to get a whole lot tougher in the paint.

If I have a bone to pick with Thompson, it’s that he doesn’t seem to grasp that basketball is war.

Jarret Jack: 30 minutes, including extended run in the 4th Q alongside Stephen Curry. The Warriors just can’t stay away from that undersized backcourt thing, can they?

I like Jack, and this backcourt might prove a necessity against some of the quicker backcourts in the league. But I’m not crazy about him running the point with Curry on the floor. Didn’t the Warriors dump Monta in order to get the ball back in Curry’s hands?

67 Responses to Behold Bogut: Warriors 87 Suns 85

One quibble. I didn’t like the Jack/Curry backcourt either — but in this case it was because I didn’t like leaving Curry in the game to play off-the-ball. His play (vis-a-vis more minutes going to Rush or Barnes then) didn’t warrant that at all. But the reason Jack ran the point was because Curry was already once and again showing his too-familiar inexplicable casualness with the ball as the game and Suns’ pressure tightened down the stretch. I say “inexplicable,” but that’s probably not true. I’m guessing that Curry’s increased casualness with the ball — the one-handed shovel passes for simple wing entries, the behind-the-back dribble that wasn’t taking him anywhere anyway — exactly at the moment when he should be tightening up every loose bolt on deck is really his nervous reaction to that pressure. Jackson threw Curry a lifeline by bringing Jack in to run the point.

Thanks Felt!
I actually enjoyed watching this game. Ugly basketball, but a great win when Lee/Curry couldn’t hit the blind side of a barn. This team’s strength is it’s depth at every position. And at center.

Some positives:
Landry – won this game for the W’s with his low post game in the 4th quarter. He needs to take some minutes away from David Lee.
W’s center position – now a huge strength! Bogut’s back!!! His elbow – might be even healed! Give him a month to get back in game shape, then watch out! Festus Ezeli – Looks to be a great back-up center! 5 rebounds in 14 minutes, 3 steals. Protecting the rim… Plus, he can actually hit a free throw. W’s out-rebounded an NBA team for once!

Brandan Rush – His slashes/cuts to the basket and finishes – are what this team needs! W’s have enough spread the floor sharp-shooters. Some nice blocks by Rush – although refs saw as fouls!

I’d rather Klay play SG. He’s not strong enough yet to hang with big SFs. Rush at backup SG. And see Barnes/Jefferson at SF.

Curry had a horrible game – but I want him running the point. Not as a SG, Thompson at 3. Jack – should be a great back-up, not a NBA starter.

It was very refreshing not to see Martin Gortat eat the Warriors alive like he has for the past couple of years.

Curry’s casualness with the ball needs to be tightened up before he can be handed the reins in the 4th quarter. The only reason the Suns were in this game was because of the 4 minute dry spell in the 4th quarter where the starting unit could hardly get up a shot because of the TO’s.

Really, a stunning performance by Bogut when you consider he hasn’t played any kind of game at all in nine months and hasn’t had full practice until recently.

How many fast break attempts? They won the boards, but how many quick outlet passes off defensive rebounds? Other than Curry/Bogut, I only remember a few more off steals. Fast breaks could have put a mediocre defensive team on its heels as well as set a tempo for their own scoring. And they’ll need these this weekend.

In general, the offense confused me and seemed to stall the team.

A note on starting Barnes, maybe. If he proves himself on defense, maybe it makes sense, since he’ll be the 4th or 5th option on offense. This sets Rush up as a primary scorer sub time and later in the game.

When Bogut is healthy he is a good player, not a great one. He had a good performance last night but did not outplay Gortat, an slightly above average center.

Bogut’s -7 rating was due to his playing with Barnes, -2, and Thompson,-10.The Warriors are not using Bogut effectively when the right cast is not placed beside him. Bogut played well on defense, but one Sun player did score over him and was fouled in the process.

Barnes, and probably Thompson, should be removed from the starting line-up for the Warriors to get off to a good start. Rush needs to be in the starting line-up,play more minutes, and told to shoot more.

Having the bench extend the lead to 17 points demonstrates that the starting line-up has to change. Or, are we to watch the second unit continue to outplay the starters? The best players not starting is just asinine.

I wholeheartedly agree that screens need to be set for Curry and for D. Lee to be better utilized.

The offense is a mess. No running. The defense was very good.

I do like Jack handling the ball, with Curry or Rush at SG, not Thompson, as he provides the Warriors with some quickness and defense in the backcourt.

Hope we do not continue to see a D.Lee-Landry front court. Teams know how to defeat a small front court by pounding the ball inside.

Rush and Ezeli needs more playing time.

I think time will tell whether the Warriors should have drafted Henson or Harkless, or some other player over Barnes in the draft. Barnes simply does not seem to be able to get to the hoop without a pick, and his floaters, as in college, often miss the mark.

The main issue is Coach Jackson. You are right about the lack of high screens; that is a tactical mistake that for some reason eludes Jackson and eluded Smart before him. I’m more concerned about his allocation of minutes. For the next month, he gets some benefit of the doubt while Bogut rounds into shape and he figures out what all the new players can do. However, I can easily see where Ezeli needs more run, he needs to choose Landry over Lee, or choose Rush over Barnes but will he? I’m not concerned with Curry’s shooting but I am concerned with his tentative play. Thank goodness for Jarret Jack. Lastly, I really liked the play of Bogut. He impacted the game in limited minutes, especially early. The W’s were a little lucky against Phoenix but you could argue they made a decent portion of that luck. Good for them.

Golden State Warriors: For the first time in a long time, Golden State has a starting five that resembles the rest of the league in both logic and quality. Andrew Bogut could be the most meaningful addition to any team in the West other than Howard, while Stephen Curry has the opportunity to define his role in the NBA.

Playoff Predictions

Western Conference

First Round:
Lakers over Warriors in five
Spurs over Rockets in seven
Thunder over Grizzlies in seven
Nuggets over Clippers in six

Second Round:
Lakers over Nuggets in seven
Thunder over Spurs in seven

The Warriors improved their roster significantly having Ezeli instead of Biedrens as the center back-up, and by adding both Jack and Landry,who provide the Warriors with solid depth.

The genius of Nellie is that he always experimented with different combinations of player to see how play best together. Jackson seems tunneled vision and doesn’t do that.

Jackson seems to be starting both Barnes and Thompson because he drafted them, even though the Warriors have other experienced and better players who should be in the starting line-up. Both have large holes in their games and given their lack of experience are not consistent players. Given that both can hit the open shot, they will have good games from time to time, but the Warriors would be better served with both coming off the bench. Rush should be playing 35 minutes per game, and Thompson 25 minutes per game, not the other way around.

I hope we get to see both Bogut and Ezeli on the court at the same time, and Landry playing SF. The Suns game demonstrates that his defender will have a hard time guarding him down low on isolation plays.

The Warriors need to strengthen their starting line-up by adding Rush to the starting line-up and removing Barnes. Just hope Rush will shoot more.

I would not be surprised if Curry’s best days playing point guard was when Don Nelson coached. Don’t see him making many assists and getting the ball to our bigs playing under Jackson.

I think the Warriors would play better with Jack starting in place of Thompson, and Curry sliding over the SG at times, and Jenkins coming off the bench as PG. He surely seems to be the Warriors best assist man.

The Warriors best six in crunch time in the fourth quarter should be Curry, Jack, Rush, Landry, D. Lee, and Bogut.

The Warriors drafted Ezeli at with the 30th pick of the first round. He is saving grace in the draft. He should have been a top 12 pick, if not higher. Barnes should have been selected in the lower portion of the first round and not by the Warriors.

-Q: Did you know Mark Jackson was setting it up for you to play the last 8 minutes of your 20-minute limit to close the game?

-BOGUT: Kind of, yeah.

-Q: From the beginning you knew?

-BOGUT: Yeah, kind of.

-Q: Do you prefer it that way–it’s such a long break before you play again when it’s that way.

-BOGUT: It’s frustrating for me right now ’cause there’s no right way to do it. I haven’t been through a minute-limit before in my career. It’s… there’s no excuse.

I’m out there, I’m playing, so there’s no excuse with my injury and with minutes. But it is frustrating. I’ve got to try to find a way to stay positive and make sure I’m more productive than I was tonight.

-Q: Did you feel less in rhythm than you were in the first game?

-BOGUT: Definitely. No doubt about it. There’s no excuse. If you’re out there on an NBA floor, whether you’re 80% or 110%, you’re out there, no one else cares how you feel. You go out there and bring your “A” game.

And tonight I didn’t play too well. As a team, we didn’t play our best.

We had a couple of probably five- or six-minute lapses where they were scoring at will and we couldn’t score and that’s where the game was, right there.

-Q: Mark just said the plan is probably to go through November with the 20-minute limit. Is that the way you see it, too?

-BOGUT: Yeah, either that or I’ll just lose my mind. You know, it’s frustrating. We’ll see what happens this next couple weeks and we’ll go from there.

Obviously I’ve got to try to find a way to find my rhythm quickly in three- or four-minute bursts that I’m out there and maintain that rhythm. Tonight I didn’t do that.

-Q: Is there stiffness or pain in the ankle?

-BOGUT: It’s sore and stuff. But what I said, I’m out there. I’m not really going to complain too much about how my ankle feels because I’m out there playing.

If it gets to a point where it’s bothering me, I’ll have to re-evaluate things. But if I’m out there, it’s good.

-Q: Is it bothering more on defense than offense?

-BOGUT: Probably more offensively, to be honest. Just getting my footwork right on the post. I’m a big footwork player, and it’s just not there. I fumbled a couple balls I should’ve caught, had a couple easy turnovers. I think offensively it’s a struggle more than defensively. Defensively it doesn’t feel too bad.

On the bright side the Warriors definitely are much more talented than they’ve been in quite some time, and for the most part, that talent is young talent that figures to grow and help this team win more games in the coming seasons.

I had no opinion on Harrison Barnes before the season started but now I do. IMO, Barnes is going to be a solid NBA player throughout his career, and very possibly much more than “solid”. He’s impressed me with his efforts defensively, he can definitely shoot the ball, and with good range, and his athleticism is quite apparent even just watching him on TV.

From all accounts he’s a hard worker and wants to be great, which is a definite prerequisite for being great. I think he’ll help the Warriors win lots of games in the future with the only question being how good will he ultimately become? The pundits who claimed he wouldn’t be any good and was a bust-of-a-draft-pick are totally clueless, IMO.

Like many here I love Ezeli. Great future, and his upside is substantial.

Curry was back to being Curry shooting-wise, and I have to say I’m liking the look with him at the 2 and Jack as the PG. Curry has got to shoot the ball, and not just on occasion, for the Warriors to be good.

Landry has looked really good through 2 games. His knack for getting off shots underneath the basket is amazing considering how “small” he looks. No way is he the 6’9 they list him in their media guide. As advertised.

Big fan of Klay T but like Curry he needs to take more shots. He seems to be working on other parts of his game and in that regard I like what I see. Still makes mistakes but he’s another extremely young player with good/great upside. Really nice pass in traffic to Lee for an easy basket tonight.

Bogut is obviously a work-in-progress (conditioning) but as long as they keep him reasonably healthy he’ll be a major force once he can shed his current part time role. Hey, it’s either a slow but sure climb back to full health or he eventually limps off into the sunset. Watching Rush go down tonight certainly doesn’t make it easier to believe in the former but doesn’t this team’s luck have to change for the better some day?

Even though Rush is undoubtedly lost for the season the Warriors still have enough depth to have a good season, and I’m definitely looking forward to watching their young players develop. Unlike in the past when “young players” were names like Foyle, Diogu, Murphy and Dunleavy, this team has some legitimate building blocks for the future.

Good teams and good luck always go hand and hand. There’s never been a championship team in any sport that wasn’t also lucky when they had to be, from drafting, to good health, to the bounce of the ball. We’ve just witnessed that very confluence of events take place with a very talented Giants team in 2 of the last 3 years.

Now, if only the basketball gods could smile on the Warriors for a change.

Bogut, who sat, sullen, at his O.Co Coliseum locker while recounting his night, has lobbied to no avail to be given more playing time.

“The doctor is pretty stubborn and adamant, and rightfully so,” Bogut said of Richard Ferkel, who performed the procedure. “He’s done millions of these things before. Just yesterday, I spoke to him and tried to get my minutes extended to 24 minutes for the next couple games and he wasn’t having any of it. I understand their point of view, but obviously it’s frustrating. I’ve got to stay the course and stay positive.

“Outside looking in, it’s better for me long-term, but personally it’s mentally tough and mentally draining to be set to an amount of minutes, but that’s the task I have to deal with right now.”

The Warriors, in a sense, are the Los Angeles Lakers lite of the NBA: Bogut is their Dwight Howard, their hopes of a second playoff berth in the last 18 seasons hinging on his ability to be the best big man they’ve had since Robert Parish was here before Bogut was born. But even with high stakes in place, the Warriors maintain the cautious approach.

“The main thing is (that) he means a lot to this organization,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “I’m not going to risk anything as far as his health is concerned. We have to look forward to the future and what he is going to mean to us down the road.”

Bogut said the seriousness of his surgery was underestimated at the time and has everything to do with the agonizing delay.

“It was a more in-depth surgery than people think,” he said. “I’ve got to be patient with it, but it’s tough.”

What a blow. We’ll get the word on Rush later, but I assume it won’t be good. He really looked like he was going to bring something special to the team this year. I questioned the second unit because of the one preseason game I saw, but they were great in the opener and I was really looking forward to seeing what they’d do against Memphis. Then Rush goes down. To add insult to injury, Biedrins came in to shoot his free throws. Has there ever been a greater letdown in all of sports?

MJ made a curious remark if I heard right (I kind of tune out). He said the loss last night was qualitatively better than the losses last year against Memphis. They did get blown out in one game, but the first two losses were by a point and even the tank team lost by four. This game for example:

Terrible to see Rush go down. My doc says it looked serious, out for the season. Here’s hoping Rush will be alright.

On another topic, it looks like the Nuggets offense hasn’t come together yet. Scored 75 and 89 in the 1st two games, both losses. Of all people, Big Baby totally dominated them last night: http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?id=400277736

Rush is bigtime favorite of this blog. We’ll argue about other players – but were usually in agreement about Rush’s value to this team on both sides of the ball. If I were a crying man – I’d have been bawling… I’ve played a lot of sports and seen a lot of injuries – and this looked devastating. I pray Brandan can come back strong. Azibuke – never was the same.

Update memo from Starbucks. Thank you so much for stopping back. As an indie auhtor, it means the world to have you all say hi. As for electricity, that’s in AEP’s hands. The govenor has declared Virgina a disaster area. It was one for me re all the food I’ve lost. On the upside, my freezer and refrigerator are clean and cleaned out. Unfortunately, my husband is going through ice-cream withdrawal. Oh, the tragedy. LOL

If the Warriors lose Rush for an appreciable time, any chance for the Warriors having a successful season diminishes.

Jackson has to wake up and realize the Warriors don’t play that well with Barnes and Thompson on the court. Barnes is -11, and 110, in the two games played. Thompson is -10, and -5. Barnes should have not been thrown into the starting line-up. Both should limit themselves to their strength shooting three point shots.

It seems clear that the best backcourt is Jack and Curry. Jack is plus 1, and 0, in the two games he played. Jenkins needs to sub in for Jack, and Curry needs to play the SG position.

With Rush out for some unknown period of time, Landry should at SF, with Thompson backing him up. Landry needs to play 30 plus minutes.

It’s difficult to watch Bogut grimacing and in obvious pain.

The Warriors have actually performed better with Ezeli playing as he has a lower minus rating than Bogut the last two games.But one has to cut Bogut some slack because he has to be on the court with both Barnes and Thompson. It was no surprise that the Warriors were down 15-9, when he left the court in the first quarter

Bogut makes the defensive plays he should make, but his weakside effort is, at best, just average, which allows for both offensive rebounds and easy opponent scores inside. Such won’t change even when he is fully healthy. He did not contest Gasol wide open jump shots.

By the way, Udoh had a positive seven rating in the Bucks win over Boston last night and held Boston to scoring less the 20 points in the second quarter.

It’s beyond me why the Warriors are taking so few three pointers which prevents the Warriors from offsetting Memphis going to the foul-line twice as much as we do.

The offense is still a total mess. The Warriors shooting % is down in part because the Warriors refuse to run.

Jackson continues to say he is going to play his best five players. If so, Rush, Jack, and Landry would be in the starting line-up, along with D.Lee and Bogut, with Thompson, Ezeli, and Jenkins coming off the bench. Barnes should get limited minutes.

+/- stats after 2 games? Perhaps too early? Plus Klay and Barnes and Ezeli – are receiving more playing time and on the job training because of their upside potential. Richard Jefferson may be a better all around player, but no upside there for the future.

Bogut – on 2 defensive sequences – drew a charge, then blocked a shot AND drew another charge.

As Frank mentioned – Barnett said he’d like to see Ezeli play Center and Bogut play the high post! That’s size!

I’m still reeling from the Rush injury. He may have developed into the best inside/out threat the team had and would have provided all kinds of options down the road. No one else can drive with his speed and strength, and shoot as well. And his defense was good. He has no adequate replacement on the bench.

With Bogut playing limited minutes and sitting out games the first month at least, and with no adequate backup for Ezeli, Ezeli himself a rookie, the team has no better than option than be an up tempo, shooting team, which is where their strengths lie. They can develop this identity now, shed dead weight, and try to add players that fit that identity.

Or they can keep pounding square pegs into round holes, which is what I fear we’ll see.

I do like being wrong. Great effort across the board, even Jefferson and Barnes. Pushing the pace helped get them in the game. I want to say not having Bogut, and thus not focusing on the front court play, put the play where it needed to be, divided among the other players. Very curious to see the write up on the difference between tonight and last night.

The author concluded his game recap with, IMO, a totally erroneous statement/conclusion (“lesser team”). I wasn’t impressed by LAC last season (overhyped to the gills) and nothing has changed for this season in regards their strength in the West, at least for my money.

You can have Blake Griffin and all his false bravado. Great dunker about sums up his overall value.

Chris Paul IS a great player but his incessant whininess never fails to irritate so I can’t say I’m ever unhappy when his team loses, and especially to the Warriors.

The rest of their team is made up of older role players who have bounced around the league for many years and a young but completely overpaid (thank you for matching, Donald Sterling) center in DJordan.

I’m sure their regular season record will be just fine and dandy but after that it’s a quick ticket home from the playoffs. Overrated and overhyped = LAC.

And yes, the Warriors, even without the big Aussie, are a better TEAM (not to mention more talented) than the Clippers. Good job, GSW!

@Steve – The Clippers were a 30-win team prior to Chris Paul landing there. And should he leave, they’ll probably revert back to a 30-win team! Sterling better hope to Chris Paul takes the most money (stay in LAC) in free agency! LOL!

187..
Harrison Barnes, young man, once you get more comfortable with the nuances and intricacies of this NBA game, oh the possibilities.

This game showed me there’s a lot to be excited about with Barnes. Got in quick foul trouble guarding a vet in Caron Butler in the first 5 minutes of the game (3 fouls), got sat down and had to be an observer for the rest of the 1st half then got some run in the 2nd half and when the game got close at the end, got the call to be out there in crunch time and clearly learned from his earlier performance and was able to stay active defensively without fouling himself out.

We’ve all heard about how he’s intelligent, has great BB IQ and is a very smart kid and this game showed me some of those smarts and BB IQ in how he made adjustments while still being able to stay aggressive on both ends. It wasn’t all perfect as he got caught up in some defensive switches and left his man open, but there’s still enough to take away some positives in a game that could’ve been a disaster for him, but actually turned into a chance for him to get a glimpse of crunch time against a top team in the NBA.

Barnes is still piecing it all together and if/when he does, it’s gonna be a wonderful thing for the Warriors. He already has some of the pieces that are needed for one to be an elite talent but they still need to be refined. Quick 1st step, smooth stroke with good elevation on that jumper along with a good strong base when he pulls up and sneaky explosive jumping ability. He makes a lot of mistakes defensively right now but that’s what he’s supposed to do as a rookie. Mess up and make mental mistakes now as a rookie and use that experience to help the team win later.

He still needs to get stronger and improve his handles a bit too. But he’s already the most athletic player on the team by far and looking at him you can see that there’s a whole lot to work with his already present skill set. He just has to put the puzzle together which will take time and coaching. All things considered, tonight was good for him because he was out there in crunch time and made some good decisions and shots, showing that he’s on the right path.

We saw it with Smart’s team, we saw it with Jackson’s team last year, and we saw it last night: the center goes down and the team is forced to play smaller units at a quicker pace. And guess what. It works. The team has to start fast and get the offense going, especially Curry and Thompson. Early scoring sets the tone and builds confidence. Getting Curry and Thompson going frees other players later when defenses adjust. Controlled play that focuses on the front court only stalls the offense and often puts them in hole, playing catchup the rest of the game.

Let’s hope they figure this out this year. Bogut should be seen as a complement to the team, not a centerpiece.